Sunday, February 26, 2006

Famed ‘Baghdad Sniper’ Mourned by Jihadist Websites

A leading terrorist ‘warrior’ who have been lionized by the jihadist propaganda machine over the last two years was himself killed by a sniper shot recently, according to identical postings on several jihadists websites. The ‘Baghdad Sniper’ became something of a terrorist celebrity and assumed mythical representations as a ‘lone wolf’ hunting down ‘the occupier.’

In the postings marking his death, he was identified by a nom de guerre, Captain Abu Bara,’ suggesting that he was a former officer in Saddam’s armed services. The posting claims that he hails from Mosul and was a secret member of the Iraqi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood even when he was serving as an officer under the Ba’athist regime. It goes on to paint a picture of a man who was kind and gentle and even “maintained good relations with Christians in Mosul.” He had allegedly vowed to “eject the Americans” and left the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood after the Iraqi Islamic Party decided to join the Governing Council under the auspices of foreign occupation.

The claim is made that Captain Abu Bara’ managed to kill 290 American soldiers in the past year, always leaving a note at his perch signed by “The Baghdad Sniper” after every killing. However, according to someone who was with him on his last ‘mission,’ he had killed two American soldiers and went for a third target when a bullet struck his forehead.

And as part of the hagiography, it is also claimed that Abu Bara’ never killed an Iraqi soldier or policeman, and that he has trained tens of other snipers to take his place.

There were many speculations about this ‘Baghdad Sniper’ including a suggestion that he was a composite of several snipers operating under the same name in the Baghdad region. It is interesting to see that the jihadists decided to announce his death rather than keeping the myth going.